Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
Every Friday, Murray Wood takes a look back at the week's news and decides who's hot... and who's not. This week's list ...
The intense heat affecting central and southern Saskatchewan for most of this week is on its way out, according to the weather service.
Dan Fulton, meteorologist with Environment Canada, said there’s a cold front slowly moving in from Alberta this weekend.
Read more:
- Lobstick Fire grows as 130 people evacuated near Shellbrook
- Wildfire water bombers abort drops near Shellbrook because of bystanders
- VIDEO: Saskatoon fire destroys four homes, no injuries reported
- VIDEO: Warman blaze burns down two homes, exhausts crews
“And behind that, and kind of in the vicinity of it, we’re looking at quite unsettled weather, but also temperatures … are going to drop off,” he explained.
By that, he means temperatures getting down to around 20 C — normal for the month of May. But there could be stormy weather tagging along with it as well.
“There’s a risk of thunderstorms in the forecast right through the weekend and there’s going to be a chance of showers right into the beginning of next week … before things settle down,” he added.
There may also be funnel clouds but “probably” no tornadoes, Fulton said, although he couldn’t completely rule that out.
Whether the precipitation forecast in central Saskatchewan will literally put a damper on the wildfires, including the Lobstick Fire in the R.M. of Shellbrook, isn’t certain.
“Cooler weather is always good. It’s more showery weather, so it’s hit and miss whether that’s going to help with the fires,” he said.
The onset of intense summer heat and continual wind gusts has meant temperature records falling in many Saskatchewan communities.
Eight communities set records on May 27, including Weyburn, where thermometers hit 34.3 C on Wednesday, blowing past the 30 C record set all the way back in 1969.
The heat wave also prompted warnings from Environment Canada, covering a large part of the province from north of La Ronge, all the way to the U.S. border.
In the city of Saskatoon, spray pads were opened on May 27, and the city also activated its Level II Emergency Heat Response plan, which included keeping some community facilities and drop in centres open as cooling stations, and adding misting stations, and water fountains in strategic parts of the city.
That plan will remain in effect until Sunday.
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